73 The Big Bang
Word Soap: As The World Keeps Turning
Author: SYLnl
Title: #73 The Big Bang
Rating: PG13
Summary: “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” - Wayne Dyer
Big Thanks To: ltklo, for brushing up my grammar
Previously on As The World Keeps Turning:
#1 #2 #3 #4 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #10 #11 #12 #13 #14 #15 #16 #17 #18 #19 #20
#21 #22 #23 #24 #25 #26 #27 #28 #29 #30 #31 #32 #33 #34 #35 #36 #37 #38 #39 #40 #41 #42 #43 #44 #45 #46 #47 #48 #49 #50 #51 #52 #53 #54 #55 #56 #57 #58 #59 #60 #61 #62 #63 #64 #65 #66 #67 #68 #69 #70 #71 #72
When they made their way to Kevin Broyd’s room, Reid had trouble believing it had been a few weeks since he operated on the lawyer. Reid’s encounter with the Swine Flu had removed Kevin from his professional radar, but Dr. Lucy Montgomery had stepped in and had turned herself in some sort of a medical Pit Bull, fiercely searching for new ways to give her patient a future. The fact that this Kevin was still alive was a little miracle to begin with, but the latest tests showed some progress. It wasn’t much, it wasn’t mind-blowing, but it was a little step in the right direction.
There was a strange vibe in the room, when Reid and Luke stepped in. Tommy looked pale, Kevin’s mother was crying, Kevin’s father looked angry and Gary seemed in shock.
And Reid didn’t improve matters much with his cold “A lot of visitors for a patient that’s only allowed two visitors at the same time.”
“I was here first,” Tommy muttered, notably ignoring his father.
“I don’t care, I need you all to step out for a moment.” Reid’s tone didn’t leave any room for remarks and while everybody left the room Reid stopped Luke from joining them.
“Could you stay here with him?” Reid didn’t like the shutdown expression of this patient and he knew this lawyer guy liked Luke. If Luke couldn’t charm a sign of life out of this guy, nobody could.
Luke nodded, slightly surprised by the request, and Reid joined the small group outside. He pointed at the Look and Read room. He needed to find out what was going on.
The moment he closed the door, Kevin’s mother sank into a chair and started crying. Yay. Leaking Ladies. Reid’s favorite.
“So…talk to me. What’s going on?”
“Kevin wants out.” Gary sounded calm, but Reid wasn’t fooled. His co-worker was crushed.
“I see.” Reid motioned at the table and the men sat down too. “He literally said that?”
Four heads nodded.
“Gary was telling about new tests that were ordered and Kevin grabbed his arm and said ‘don’t waste your time on me. I’m beyond repair. Let me die.’” David Broyd swallowed.
“I see,” Reid repeated and glanced at Tommy.
“It is a very common reaction in cases like this,” Reid continued, “And I can even understand his reasoning. Right now everything looks hopeless and that’s pretty hard to take if you’re the one in the hospital bed.”
“Me too,” Gary’s voice was a soft whisper, “I understand completely. But that doesn’t make it easy to hear.”
Reid nodded. “I understand that too. The whole situation sucks, let’s be clear about that. But Kevin is my patient and therefore my priority. Surrounding his bed with tension and tears is not the way to go, right now. What he needs is some space to share his fears, his pain, everything. So I’m suggesting we get him some professional counseling.”
Four heads nodded again.
“I’m also suggesting you all take a break, right now. Go home, go back to work, go do your homework… some normal routine. I know you all want to fight his battle, but you can’t. He needs to start fighting on his own. So visit him, but keep it short. Share your daily life with him. Trigger him with things he likes. He’s in a black hole right now. You need to bring him back in touch with normal life.”
“But he’s so devastated,” Kevin’s mother sniffed and Reid nodded.
“He is, but you being devastated too isn’t gonna help him. So go cry with friends, with family, but not around him.”
Her angry eyes made him smile. “I know I sound harsh, but as I said…Kevin is my priority, so my decisions are based on his recovery.”
“We understand,” David gave his wife a telling look, “and we’ll take your advice. We’ll go home and come back tonight for a short visit.”
“Great,” Reid gave him a quick nod. “I’ll go and see him now. You will be informed about any changes, of course.”
He left the room and made his way to his patient. When he softly opened the door, he could hear Luke’s voice and some soft answers. At least Kevin was responding. Reid smiled. Who could resist Luke?
The smile was gone when he stepped forward into the room and Reid gave Kevin a stern look. Kevin returned the look with anger.
“Are you having a go at me now?”
“Was Luke giving you a hard time?”
“No, I didn’t mean him.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. From what I’ve heard, you deserve every verbal bashing you get.”
Luke looked startled. He knew Reid’s bedside manners left some room for improvement, but this was very cold, even for Reid.
Kevin wasn’t impressed. He shrugged.
“Telling your boyfriend you want to die is bad enough, but to say that in front of your twelve year old kid is a whole other story.”
Reid’s words hit home. Kevin paled. And Reid wasn’t even finished yet.
“Especially if that twelve year old kid already lost a dad and is scared out of his mind.”
Kevin made a soft gagging sound and some tears found their way out. Reid’s face softened, he pulled in a chair and sat next to Luke.
“I understand how grim everything looks and sounds, right now. I understand how you would want to leave it all behind. But we’re still testing. Yes, it doesn’t look good, right now. But it’s not hopeless. You know I would tell you if it was. We’re still fighting. We’re not giving up.”
“So… now I’m not allowed to give up either? Is that it?”
“Nobody can dictate your feelings. If giving up is what you want to do, then do it.” Reid shrugged. “It will not affect our efforts to keep looking for ways to overcome the odds.”
He stood up and his hand on Luke’s shoulder made Luke stand too.
“I’ll send in a nurse and she will escort you through all the scans and blood tests. I’ll be back tomorrow to discuss the outcome.”
Kevin nodded. His “thanks” was almost hateful, but Reid didn’t care.
“You’re very welcome.” Reid raised his hand in a quick greeting and after giving Kevin a quick squeeze in the arm, Luke followed Reid out the room.
“Wow, that was painful,” Luke whispered and Reid pulled him close.
“I know. But somebody had to shake him up and my reputation is already dreadful, so I selected myself for that job.”
“And you do it so well,” Luke teased and Reid ruffled the blond locks.
“Of course I do.”
Reid started walking in huge steps, almost dragging Luke along with him. But the blond didn’t mind. He knew what was coming. Reid needed an outlet and Luke was more than happy to oblige. So he let Reid lead him into his office, smiled when the red button was hit and wasn’t surprised when Reid pushed him hard against the closed door.
Luke’s soft moan made Reid stop.
“Did I hurt you?”
Luke shook his head and just stared at Reid’s lips. He knew from experience Reid didn’t need any more encouragement than that. And he didn’t. His kiss was intemperate, wild, dominant and - to Luke - hot as hell.
“Do you have time for some serious numbers?” Luke panted and Reid’s grin was raw.
“I’ll make time,” he growled, while he pushed himself even harder to Luke, making the door squeak. The sound made them both chuckle. “But I do suggest we take this to the other room…”
Luke just nodded, demanding restoration of lip contact and finding his way under Reid’s shirt. He shivered when he felt Reid’s fingers on his zipper, but froze at the sound of the alarm.
They both moaned, breathing heavily.
It took a few seconds before Luke could actually produce some words.
“What’s that?”
“It’s the fire alarm,” Reid frowned, as he took out his phone and called the nurses station. “Nurse Lorraine, hi. What’s going on?”
Reid listened, while his frown deepened. “I’ll be there.”
The hot lover had left Reid’s body and the leader had taken over. He gave Luke a quick kiss.
“I’m not sure what’s going on, but someone started a small fire in the stairway. It might be a distraction, so everybody is on alert. I need to get out there.”
Luke nodded. “Do you want me to stay here?”
Reid squeezed his chin. “You don’t mind? I could be right back.”
“You just go and do what you need to do…” Luke gave Reid a soft pat on his backside, “I’ll be here.”
The minute Reid stepped outside, his world changed. He left the door ajar, so Luke could hear what was going on, and he tried to look confused.
“What’s this?”
Reid knew exactly what it was, though. He was looking at a huge guy, who appeared dangerous. And not just because of the gun he was pointing at Nurse Stewart’s head.
“You look important,” the man sneered and Reid almost smiled.
“You’re very observant,” Reid sounded calm and even respectful, “I am important. So how can I help you?”
The man visibly appreciated Reid’s tone and seemed to calm down. A little.
“I’m looking for Grimaldi.”
“He’s not here. He left the hospital this morning.”
The man looked at Ali.
“So you were telling the truth. Smart move.” He turned to Reid again. “So where is he now?”
“I don’t know and frankly I don’t care,” Reid lied, making a few steps towards the man, who immediately tensed up.
“Stay there, doc.”
Reid smiled at him. “Look, I understand you grabbed the first human being in sight to make your point, but if you’re looking for a bargaining chip, you can do better than a simple nurse.”
The man looked confused. “You want to trade places with her?”
“Want is not really the word I had in mind…” Reid replied calmly, “but before you know it those girls start leaking and who needs all that drama?”
Ali got the hint and started sniffing.
“There,” Reid rolled his eyes, “I told you.”
The man looked at Ali, shrugged, pushed her away and pointed his gun on Reid.
“Okay doc, now what?”
“Interesting question,” Reid was stalling. His main priority had been Ali’s safety and he wasn’t sure how to proceed now. “I guess we need to find that Grimaldi guy.”
Reid stood next to the gun now and for some reason the guy holding it looked familiar. Reid was a disaster when it came to remembering names, but he did have a photographic memory and he knew he had seen this face.
“Did you visit him, when he was here? You look familiar.”
The man seemed pleased with the recognition. Proud, even.
“You probably saw me on TV. My photo has been shown for quite some time.”
Reid forced himself to chuckle.
“You’re right! That’s it. You’re one of the guys that outsmarted those prison guards!”
He even managed to mix in some feigned admiration and the guy next to him looked pleased.
“Yep.”
Reid made it look like he just connected the dots. “Oh wait, that’s where you met Grimaldi! He was in that group too, right?”
“He was,” the man turned angry again, “but he betrayed me. The police were at my hiding place, yesterday, and then I heard all Grimaldi’s charges had been dropped. Coincidence? I don’t think so. The Italian bastard ratted me out.”
“Hmmm,” Reid saw some movement in the corner of his eye and tried to distract the guy next to him, “Are you sure it was him? How about that guy that was caught a few days ago...”
The escape artist looked at him with a frown. “But he’s still in custody, though.”
“For now,” Reid suggested. “Who knows what deals he made…”
The confusion was obvious and it was the perfect moment to move in. And they did. There was a lot of chaos, police officers yelling, Margo’s voice shouting orders. Reid focused on the nurses in his corner. He looked Ali in the eye.
“Get them out of here!”
Ali nodded and when Reid turned, he saw his aggressor still with a gun in his hand. For some reason he knew what was gonna happen. Hearing the loud bang didn’t come as a surprise.